Indonesian pilot grounded for ‘offering hostess as compensation’

An Indonesian airline has grounded a pilot after he allegedly offered an air hostess to passengers as compensation for a delay on a flight to the resort island of Bali.

Loud moaning sounds were also heard from the cockpit throughout the Lion Air flight, with one passenger left so shocked that he lodged a complaint about improper behaviour with the transport ministry.

The passenger, Lambertus Maengkom, said that as the plane took off late from Java island, the co-pilot jokingly announced over the PA system that he was offering a female, divorced flight attendant to passengers to make up for the delay.

“We want to ask whether it is standard procedure, applied by [authorities], to make Lion Air pilots offer a divorced flight attendant to passengers, repeatedly, over the microphone?” Maengkom said in his complaint.

The co-pilot, who has not been named, also loudly wished one of the other crew members “happy birthday” over the PA system during the flight on Saturday, it said.

“It was not funny at all, it was dangerous,” Maengkom said, adding that angry passengers had questioned whether the co-pilot was sober and unsuccessfully sought to confront him when the plane landed.